You're Still There
by Luckyclaw
Summary: Sasuke's body is taken over by Orochimaru, and Itachi freaks out. He recruits Naruto and Sakura to help him save Sasuke, but can you get back a soul from the devil? (Never to be completed.)
1. Do You See

(Welcome everyone! This idea's been sitting in my head for months now, so I decided I might as well write it up. So, yeah. I'll shut up and let you read now ^_^)

Do You See…

Orochimaru's scream of pain echoed through the halls as Sasuke prepared. He was sure that today that snake bastard would try to take his body, call it intuition or the fact that Kabuto had been inspecting him for the past three days, the Uchiha boy could feel it coming. The quick thought of tying a Konoha headband around his forehead for irony's sake was quelled as quickly as it came, but not without leaving a feint smirk on Sasuke's face. He slipped his katana and its sheath into his belt before exiting the cave that could barely be passed off as a room and entering the poorly-lit labyrinth to visit Sensei-Dearest.

Behind the thick wooden door, Orochimaru was expecting Sasuke all along. After all, what kind of person in their right mind would willingly give up their body to someone they didn't like? Still, he couldn't hope but laugh in joy at the power he was sure he was about to gain. But his blissful thoughts would have to wait, as a blue chakra came crashing through the door like lightning. Quickly raising his arms in defense, the chakra blade went crashing through the bone in his left arm and pierced halfway into the right behind it. With a grunt of pain, the snake ninja called out, "Who's there?"

Suddenly, the door started to slash open until it fell apart into many different pieces. There, standing in the doorway, was Uchiha Sasuke.

"There's a new invention, Sasuke, It's called a doorknob! I was expecting you to do this anyway, but that door didn't do anything."

Sasuke seemed unfazed by Orochimaru's snappy remark, and spoke out, "You have nothing more to teach me," His curse seal began to activate, "It seems that while standing before you…" The Sharingan now activated, "I can become heartless." He stepped forward, pressing the Raikiri steadily deeper into his ex-sensei's flesh, until the old man's arms where pinned to the wall. "You're weaker than me," Sasuke stated, "There's no reason to give you my body at this point." Orochimaru growled out his response; "Big words for a mere Uchiha hatchling!"

Sasuke smirked for a second before suddenly threatening, "You kill the innocent for your own purposes and gain, just like him… You disgust me!" He leaped onto the bed where Orochimaru lay, unsheathing his katana. But then suddenly the snake sannin gaped his mouth and spat a black sludge- right into Sasuke's eyes. Whether out of surprise, the force of the blow or pain, the Uchiha was knocked backwards, rubbing at the tar-like glob that burned and blocked his vision. He heard Orochimaru laugh.

"Did I ever told you about how I fought with Itachi, Sasuke-kun? I learned that the Sharingan can counter most Genjutsu-like jutsu, which probably includes my soul-transfer jutsu. So me and Kabuto-kun made this solution. It disables your troublesome Sharingan until I'm the one using it. Right now, he is waiting to give me the antidote to remove it once I've taken your body. Any last words, _Sasuke-kun_?" He hissed Sasuke's name like it was venomous. Sasuke only managed to spit three words at him, while clawing at the black smudge on his eyes…

"Rot in hell… Bastard…"

His screams where heard shortly after.

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"Great work, Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto commended while wiping the tar-like gunk off his master's eyes. Orochimaru was so ecstatic, he couldn't even feel the burning pain. He just kept smiling and agreeing with Kabuto's compliments. After his assistant was done, he opened his new playthings for the world to see.

Spinning red, with three tomoes that now served a new master.

(Well, that was fun! How do you all like it? This will be continued, the next part will be up soon! And, yes, it will have Itachi action.

~Lucky)


	2. The People Calling For You

(I don't own Naruto. If I did, this would probably be cannon.

Sorry for the short chapter before… I'm probably gonna re-write that.. For now, though, enjoy this! I worked my left paw off for this thing! I'll tell ya, it's not easy typing with just one hand.

Also a warning, the future of this story WILL mention SasuSaku feelings, and the rest of the bonds a brother/sister kind of relationship. Because that's how I interpreted Kishi's manga. Don't like, don't read. It won't play a big part, anyway, I promise. *Extra explanation at bottom*)

You're Still There

Chapter 2

The People Calling for you

"Usually people cry when sad or in pain," Sai quoted from his newest 'Emotions for Dummies' book. He stared at the silver-topped Jonin beside him, who's eyes seemed glossier than the normal, "Does that mean something bad happened? Or is this a Team Seven thing? Maybe I should cry too?" The artist tilted his head innocently, while Kakashi just took a deep breath. After a long moment he turned his head to look the newest addition to his old team. He didn't know why he'd come with Sai to get ramen at a time like this, after all, he'd recently been told that Sasuke was gone. It also didn't help that Sai looked like his old student. Kakashi sighed before saying, "No… you don't have to be sad, Sai. We where just told that Sasuke…" Kakashi bit his lip under his mask, and silently hushed himself. If he went on anymore, his eyes would get glossier…

Sai quickly understood what was ailing his friends. He felt for them, deep in his isolated heart. It made him feel terrible that he couldn't help at all. The feeling of helplessness that is known to attack at each of us when it arrives, it's one of the worst kinds of emotions. He'd felt it when his brother died, he'd felt it when Sasuke got away from them in the Sound that time, and here it was again. He clenched his fist, but his face remained ever stoic.

The clouds where covering the sky in a cold embrace, their dark color threatening to drop its even colder water onto Konoha below. It was a terribly fitting atmosphere for three people who had just been broken some of the worst possible news. No wind blew, only leaving a threatening feeling of calm before a storm instead of a subtle prelude to the downpour.

It was ten minutes of deadly silence before the ramen shop owner came out of the back with two steaming bowls of ramen. Placing them in front of the two ninja, he simply nodded and went back in. He knew when to comfort someone and when to just leave them be, and this was a case that not even his wise advice could help. Deep in thought, Sai broke his chopsticks and started to dig in with a monotone 'Itadakimasu'. Kakashi, however, suddenly wasn't very hungry.

Kakashi couldn't help but think of Sasuke. That boy was just like he was when he was young, so he had often associated the Uchiha with himself, naturally. So when the mental images of Sasuke's soul being trapped, or worse, destroyed, within the dark claws of the snake sannin began to arrive in his head, the Copy ninja felt even worse than he should. It was like _he_ was the one being destroyed. It was a terrible feeling that no man should feel, lest not one like Kakashi. Though deep in his heart, there was also a feeling of guilt. For many reasons. First, he barely did anything to help save him. He hadn't even seen his ex-student for the past three years, whereas even Sai had gotten a glimpse of him. Second, he bared to be so melancholy while Naruto and Sakura had gotten it so awfully. The mind of the Shinobi started to wander to when they'd gotten the bad news…

* * *

Kakashi strolled up the Hokage building with his face buried in his book, as usual. It was cloudy outside, and he was really hoping that this 'urgent news' wasn't a mission; no one wants to trek through the forest in the rain.

Once he made his way outside Tsunade's office, he noticed Sakura and Naruto there as well. Right then he knew something was up. When they where sent on missions together, either Sai or Yamato would accompany them, except when they where injured, then a different member of the Konoha 12 was sent instead. He suddenly took back what he said about not wanting a mission; the rain is lovely this time of year!

A barely audible 'Come in' sounded from behind the door. Now Kakashi really, _really_ knew something was up. Tsunade being quiet was like Jeraiyah respecting a woman's privacy, or Naruto not eating ramen. Even Sakura had noticed something was wrong, as she looked at the door cautiously. Naruto, being the dense fool he was, quickly yanked the door open and just waltzed in casually. "What's up, Baa-chan? Is it an A-rank mission?" His eyes lit up excitedly.

Tsunade bit her lower lip and shook her head gravely. How was she going to put this to him? Naruto's eyes only lit up more, "Ooooh! It's an S-rank! Yes!" He punched the air in triumph, only for Tsunade to lash out, "Naruto! I'm trying to think…" Sakura instantly noticed the distress in Tsunade's voice. She decided to address the issue, "Tsunade-sama, something's wrong…" The Hokage couldn't hold it in anymore, so she went with the first words that came out, "Sasuke and Orochimaru have fought…" she trailed off, leaving the room to stir in tension, but they all knew from her face what she was going to say. "Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto… I'm sorry."

Kakashi was the least affected. With the years of pain and heartbreak he'd been through, it was understandable. But he was still devastated. His visible eye was clenched and he was rubbing his arm to keep calm. Sakura? No question. She was trying so hard not to cry, she really was. But her eyes betrayed her. Tears cascaded down her cheeks through tightly shut orbs. But probably the most heart-wrenching scene was the pure horror in Naruto's eyes. His mouth hung open, and his arms hung limp at his side. He looked like he didn't know what to do.

"S-Sasu…ke…" It was only now his eyes started to water. He exterior look was barely a tribute to the turmoil, heartbreak and utter despair that was running rampant inside. His legs where the next to give out, as he dropped to his knees, the despairing tears spraying from sapphire eyes to the ground below. He clutched at his blonde locks while a scream of agony tore directly from his heart for the entire building to hear. Sakura and Kakashi quickly went over to their broken teammate, engulfing him in a group hug. It was mostly for selfish reasons, however. The entire team just had a nail driven directly into their hearts with this terrible news, and they all now needed each other.

Tsunade felt a tear slip down her cheek. This was the same exact scene from when her brother died, and the same scene from when Orochimaru left. It was like she'd hit rewind on a remote, only with different people. She hated to be the one to have broken the news to them all, hated to be the second cause of all this grief.

'_Are you happy now, Orochimaru?_' She mentally growled at her ex-teammate, _'Perhaps you'd like to see _this_ with your new eyes?'_

Naruto ended up breaking away from them all and bolting out of the room, a trail of tears right behind him. But this time, no one chased him.

* * *

Well, Sakura had decided to take the week off, Naruto was off somewhere crying his soul out, Tsunade popped open a bottle of her strongest sake, and here Kakashi was, attempting to eat ramen beside Sai. As was apparent, nothing was really panning out for any of them. But Kakashi felt guilty because of the fact that he was walking out of all of this with not much more than a few tears that refused to fall. Sakura lost her love, and Naruto lost his brother. The thought hadn't yet crossed Kakashi's mind yet that after this, he'd probably have lost all three of them.

He broke his chopsticks and finally looked at the bowl of ramen in front of him. It was only lukewarm at best by now, but they say things are easier to cope with on a full stomach. With a curt nod, he whispered, "Itadakimasu…" and started to slowly pick at it.

.

.

.

When Naruto had been told Sasuke was gone, it was nothing short than a tragedy. His whole world, shattered, with only two words; '_I'm sorry…_'. The number one knuckle-headed ninja felt all traces of optimism drained from his soul in that instant, something he'd never felt before. He barely realized he was running until he noticed the scenery rolling before him, he was that caught up in the event at hand.

The Jinchuuriki's mind was totally blank as he ran. The only things he felt where the ground below his feet and the intense emotions rising in his chest. The world seemed non-existent in those minutes. He didn't even realize the place he was running to until he got there…

Before long, he found himself on top of the Hokage monument. Naruto was forced slightly back by a strong gust of wind before he took a seat on one of the hair stones of the Yondaime statue. The clouds looked heavy enough for the blonde teen to reach up and touch at this point, and equally as dark. All the more fitting of his mood.

His tears had stopped for the moment, like the calm before the storm. He found himself looking around the village beneath him, reminiscing about certain spots. Like the place behind the dango store where he'd first read Icha Icha- with Sasuke and Sakura when they where twelve. That was the day he started keeping an eye on his sensei when he said he liked him. Or those two broken telephone poles, where he'd stood for two days straight with Sasuke after loosing a bet to Sakura. With grease on their boots. Oh! Or even that crazy day in the alley with the carpet lady…

It was only then he realized who he was reminiscing about. Sasuke. Though the memories had brought a smile to his sad face, the harsh fact soon came rebounding back. He felt his eyes sting with the tinge of sadness again. All he'd ever aimed for in the past three years was bringing him home, so they could all laugh and just be the family that they where again. Was that really too much to ask? Just for one person out of millions in the world? Apparently so. Especially when that person is wanted by a man called Orochimaru…

Suddenly, his eyes turned slightly scarlet. Naruto had hit a conclusion; it was all his fault. If Orochimaru hadn't come along, Sasuke wouldn't have left. If he didn't leave, he wouldn't have been destroyed. If he wasn't destroyed, he'd be here! That bastard had no right to run around with Sasuke's eyes, in Sasuke's body, after forcing out Sasuke's soul, Naruto thought. Yes, it was decided, Sasuke would want Naruto to destroy Orochimaru for doing such a thing!

Tears of both rage and mourn leaked from his eyes as his teeth gritted. But in the same instant, the heavens finally unleashed their angers onto the world below. Rain and wind whipped at the Jinchuuriki's face, with the thunder crashing in the background. It was truly a sight to see; scarlet eyes of hate glowing against the darkness of the storm with blonde hair whip lashing around in the ferocity of wind.

Yes, tomorrow, he decided, Uzumaki Naruto would wage the personal war on the Snake Sannin. For his brother.

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.

Slowly, Sakura placed the picture of Team 7 back on the nightstand. She thought of all the things she could have done to save him when she had the chances. That was the funny thing about hindsight: you know what to do now, but it already happened. And it's that kind of redundancy that really hurts the most.

She thought about a lot of different scenarios. Maybe if she had attacked him the night of her confession? Perhaps if she'd accompanied Naruto to retrieve him? Or maybe that day in Sound…

Letting out a sigh, she knew it was hopeless. She had been too weak to stop him from leaving anyway. So what did she do about this? Training for three years with Tsunade. But apparently the Sound village gives out steroids, and he was _still_ stronger. There was nothing more irritating in her sixteen-year life.

Amidst all the sorrow and regret, a new voice was heard. The voice of a question. The voice slowly grew in volume until it was the only thing that buzzed in her mind; '_What now?_' All their lives, they'd trained, lived and breathed saving Sasuke. All of a sudden… it was gone. Sure, they had their jobs to think of, but what was the point of it all now?

What a mind-wracking question from her already taxed mind. Putting her palm to her skull, she lay down staring at the ceiling. She felt so… tired. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. She closed her eyes and decided to think about it all in the morning, this was just too much to take in right now. She thought about the old shinobi saying, '_Sleep to loosen the knots of a mind._' But she quickly shoved it out of her mind as she remembered that was an old Uchiha saying. Damn being so good at trivia.

Away from the pain and agony of those torn minds, a certain Nukenin was having one of the greatest days he'd ever had in years. Any kind of good thing was rare when you where not only an Akatsuki member, but also the one who single-handedly murdered your entire clan. For this Nukenin was none other than Uchiha Itachi.

The rain outside tapped peacefully on the window of the abandoned hut him and Kisame had found as the fire they had going in the center crackled cheerfully. For the moment Itachi was alone in the small structure, as Kisame had gone to the nearby town to get food and supplies for their next Jinchuuriki hunt. That old shark always liked going into the rain, anyway.

Itachi's Akatsuki cloak hang on the wall, soaking wet. He'd been caught in the rainstorm with his partner on the road, and been consecutively poured on. It wasn't fun for him, however, Kisame seemed to like it. But this had meant that Itachi couldn't go out into the rain. He had a terrible -but slow-acting- sickness that was in the early stages at this point. If he went out there, he'd risk speeding it up.

But nevertheless, he was in an excellent mood. Why? If his calendar was correct, the execution of that bastard snake he'd once called a partner was sometime this week. By none other than his baby brother. It wasn't so much the loss of Orochimaru that excited him, it was the fact that the one person he still cared about was getting stronger and stronger. Soon enough, Sasuke would be able to rid him of this awful life and become the hero he deserved to be in doing this. Also the fact that Kisame had informed him that his favorite food was on sale at a nearby onigiri stand. Bliss.

His kindling happiness only grew a bit more as Kisame walked through the door of the hut with a bag around one arm, hanging his cloak next to Itachi's. Plopping down next to the Uchiha, he squeezed his hair, ringing out some of the water that soaked it. He dropped the bag before striking up a small conversation.

"I heard some news while I was out," Kisame stated bluntly, before his tone picked up a bit, giving it a cheerful ring, "I think you'll like it." This couldn't have thrilled Itachi more. Good news was always good for a great mood, of course. Giving one of those smirks that Uchiha where known for, he gave a nod of approval. Kisame continued, "That brother of yours and Orochimaru faced off-" At this time, Itachi began to bite into one of the cabbage onigiri that his partner had bought, "-and Sasuke's dead!"

'_He's dead, that's wonder-_' It was about that time that the thought actually grazed his brain. Instantly, he forgot how to swallow in his shock and the rice caught in his throat, causing him to choke and gag. After a startled few smacks on the back by a dumbstruck Kisame, he hacked up the mangled remains of the food into the fire in front of him, still wide-eyed and trembling a bit. Whether it was from choking or shock, Kisame wasn't sure.

Itachi sounded a lot calmer than he looked when he spoke, "Can you repeat that?" The swordsman rubbed the back of his head and did as asked, "I just said your little brother's finally dead… Itachi?" The nukenin had begun to rise to his feet, eyes closed, and headed for the door of the hut. Once he reached it, he gave a sigh and mumbled, "I'll be right back in." and then he exited to stand in the rain.

'_You stupid idiot!_' He scolded himself as he idly looked up at the clouds, '_did you really think Sasuke'd be able to take a Sannin on his own? Moron!_' He rose a hand and pressed it over his eye, trying to calm himself from all these self-inflicted insults. '_He barely managed to defeat that young Jinchuuriki! You are an awful brother! Awful!_' Well, he knew he was an awful brother, after all, you're generally not supposed to kill your family then show your brother… twice. But it still hurt. He had been trying to help protect him on the sidelines all these years, and he took a gamble. Allow Sasuke to run off to Orochimaru, leaving him to get stronger and hate Itachi's example more and more, or kick his ass back to Konoha, exposing him as the brother he actually was all these years. He lost. The gamble, his brother, his only reason for staying alive. He clenched his free fist slightly. '_Idiot!_'

Then a thought occurred to him. A slight flicker of hope in the dark. As quickly as it had appeared, it died, but Itachi drew out that thought to think about it.

'_Perhaps you can save him…_'

The idea was ludicrous. Only something an idiot or a desperate person would dare pursue. Sasuke's will wasn't probably the only thing gone; his very _soul_ was probably destroyed as well. So what would be the point of trying to save him if the chances where only five percent at best? Itachi had gambled before, many times, he was never naturally lucky. It made no logical sense to do this. So why?

In all the thinking and debating going on in his mind, the soaked nukenin didn't notice the one man in the whole world walk out of the hut and stand beside him until he felt the hand on his shoulder. Kisame only had to look into the saddened ninja's eyes before he got most of what was going on. Apparently, Itachi was sad about Sasuke. It would take a pretty oblivious moron to not guess that.

Over the years, Itachi and Kisame had grown very close. Their bond was almost a rival of a very familiar one; Sasuke and Naruto's. Itachi felt that if he could trust anyone, it would be Kisame. So he decided that a second opinion would be ideal.

So trust he did. And with trust came explanation. He didn't tell him everything, only the things most relevant. His true feelings toward Sasuke, his concerns about how he may be lost forever, how he wasn't getting his sickness cured to be able to die at his brother's hands, and so on. Though so many thoughts went through Kisame's head at the time, so many questions where bottled in, not a word was said by the swordsman. It was the first, and probably last, time Itachi explained so much to his partner.

After Itachi had finished, they where silent for a while. The rain continued to pour down as Kisame looked deep in thought. After a pure half hour of just thinking, Kisame nodded, smirked, and started,

"Well, Itachi, I don't know much about how powerful a bond can be. You're the closest friend I've ever had, and even here I could probably turn on you if I needed to." He looked at Itachi funnily, like a man does a caged animal, "But I guess this bond of yours with Sasuke really rises above all else, eh?" Itachi had no response. "So… I guess when Itachi wants something, he'll pursue it to the ends of the earth and the only way to stop him is to kill him." Itachi tensed a bit, especially when Kisame quickly reached into the Uchiha's weapon holster and pulled out a kunai. But then he looked thunderstruck when Kisame plunged it into his own arm.

"…So I did. Though he was mortally wounded, Hoshigaki Kisame killed Uchiha Itachi. You're a dead man now, Itachi, so you'd better start digging up your brother's grave!"

It took him a few seconds to grasp that his best friend was betraying the Akasuki, mangling himself and letting him get away for a whim of his. If he was anyone else, he would have cried on the spot. But Uchiha Itachi doesn't cry. With a grateful smile, and a rare, glossy look in his eye, he thanked his partner for everything, but then warned him, "That new member in Akatsuki, Tobi, be careful of him. And tell him… Someone's watching him."

Before Kisame could ask who, or why, Itachi had sped off into the trees, through the pouring rain. A flash of lightning illuminating the area was the only way anyone could have seen that Uchiha Itachi, in fact, _does_ cry.

(Kay, you may be asking WHY I put in SxS feelings here, it's because Sakura really has no bond other than that. Brother/Sister? Psh. She loves him romantically, whereas Sasuke seems to care for her in a subtle manner. I probably won't end this story on a SasSak note, but what else will I do with Sakura on the way there?

Review replies;

Ninjaducksquad47: *Clinks glass of Dr. Pepper* Indeed. Stay thirsty, my friend. But not hungry; because being hungry just sucks. Agreed? *Pulls out BBQ chips*)


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